A downloadable playkit

Picaroons is an adventuring tabletop roleplaying game for picaresque adventures; take on the role of a Picaroon,  a rogue who must rely on their wits to make their way in an uncaring world.

Use this game text however you please, so long as you’re not a bigot, fascist, or other piece of dogshit.

This project is under development!

It currently includes lightweight rules for adjudication, character creation/advancement, combat, companions, hirelings, and resting. The full set of core rules are visible in the screenshots on this page.  Eventually, the rules will be available in website form as a free SRD as well.

This project is also itchfunding!

  • $200 USD - I'll be able to afford proper editing of the core book. Minimum price will rise $2USD!
  • $500 USD - I'll be able to afford layout of the core book. Minimum price will rise $1USD!
  • $750 USD  -  I'll be able to afford custom character sheets. Minimum price will rise $1USD!
  • $1000 USD - I'll be able to afford an initial print run of the core book, details to follow as we close in on this goal.
  • $1250 USD - I'll have actually been remunerated for some of the writing!

As the remaining zines are completed, I'll add itchfunding projectsfor them as well. In the meantime, you can pre-buy them as add-ons! Note that their minimum price will go up as they get completed, so buying early is also buying at a discount!

Make sure you check the Exclusive Content section at the bottom of this page before you buy! You can grab a community copy, pre-order the supplementary zines, or snag a slot as a friendly sponsor!

Scrivener's Kit
A mockup of the Scrivener's Kit supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette.

In this zine, guidance for the player(s) running  Picaroons through adventures, featuring:

  • Adjudication Flow - when to call for tests and advice for interpreting them
  • Conversions - help for pulling content from anywhere else into Picaroons
  • Errata - optional systems for reputations, relationships, factions, downtime, etc.

Tricks of the Trade

Mockup of the Tricks of the Trade supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette.

In this zine, examples of tricks and subsystems to expand on them, featuring:

  • The Supernatural - tricks for pacts with magical entities, spell scholarship, rituals, bindings, and unlocking the magic within
  • The Merely Mundane - tricks for feats of arm, deep skill, and knowledge as power
  • Training, Study & Quests - how to acquire tricks without spending marks

Questing Curios

Mockup of the Questing Curios supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette.

In this zine, examples of domains-as-items, featuring:

  • Relics - powerful items with conditions and unlocks, made by powerful entitites
  • Soulslivers - items which grow as they are used
  • Banal Magic - disposable items whose power wanes with use
  • Alchemy - a subsystem for creating and using consumable magic

Palatial Shadows

Mockup of the Palatial Shadows adventure zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette.

In this zine, an urban hexflower featuring:

  • The Palace, 7 hexes of palatial grounds
  • The City, featuring numerous neighborhoods: The Docks, The Old City, Riverside, The Steel Quarter, Ashtown, Gilded Grove, and more
  • Factions: The Regent, The Raptors, Alchemist's Guild, The Silent Librarians, The Students' Union, Drake's Kin, and more
  • Characters: Numerous folk of note, including hirelings, potential companions, patrons, and people with problems.
  • Lifepath: An alternate character creation flow to raise Picaroons beneath the shadow of the great palace
  • Hearsay: timelines of events happening in the city and advice on bringing them into play

Picaroons: Collected Edition Mockup

A prototype mockup for what a collected edition of Picaroons might look like, courtesy of Lucas Rollim

Picaresque Encyclopedia
A mockup of what a hardback Picaresque Encyclopedia might look like, courtesy of Chris Bissette
StatusIn development
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(23 total ratings)
AuthorMichael T Lombardi
GenreAdventure, Role Playing
TagsOSR, picaresque, Tabletop role-playing game
Code licenseMIT License
Average sessionAbout an hour
LanguagesEnglish

Download

Download
Character Sheet - A4 59 kB
Download
Character Sheet - Letter 58 kB
Download
Picaroons - EPUB 1.4 MB
Download
Picaroons - Single Page PDF 7 MB
Download
Picaroons - Spreads PDF 7 MB

Development log

Comments

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Yo, it’s been a while! I hope you are well and I wonder if you wanna play a game on of these days!

(+1)

Hi! You use HD in the playbook, but I can't find what it stands for...

oh, good catch! it stands for hit dice, which I'll clarify in an update tonight or tomorrow.

HD determine both your max HP (hit points) and how much you heal when resting. Finally, they're used in some of the options you need to choose between when your HP drops to 0, namely the Use It and Wait It Out options.

I hope that helps a bit!

It does, thanks!